


The Adventurer and the Snow Queen: A Tale of Two Worlds

by John_the_Adventurer



Series: Adventures of John [1]
Category: Frozen (2013), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Crossover, F/M, It is all true, believe it or not, true story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-04
Updated: 2015-07-15
Packaged: 2018-04-07 14:42:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4267200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/John_the_Adventurer/pseuds/John_the_Adventurer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just when everything seemed to be calming down in Arendelle, Elsa was thrown off her guard as a strange man fell out of nowhere and turned her life upside down. I am John the Adventurer, and I am that man. I have been on many impossible adventures, but I never expected to fall into the world of a Disney film and fall in love. This is my story, but it is also hers. This is the tale of the Adventurer and the Snow Queen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Introduction

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Adventures of John: The Adventurer and the Snow Queen](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/125421) by John the Adventurer. 



The Adventurer and the Snow Queen:  
A Tale of Two Worlds  
Introduction

The original version of this story, along with the rest of the Adventures of John, can be found on fanfiction.net. This is a story that I hope can be enjoyed by readers new and old alike. I worked hard to make it the best written of all my tales. Feel free to comment and review, whether positive or negative. Some of you may not like it, which is only to be expected, but I am confident that the majority of you will love reading it just as much as I have loved writing it.  
When I first wrote Adventures of John: The Adventurer and the Snow Queen, I was fresh from the grief of my experience. I rushed the telling of my story, writing it all using my smart phone in three days. Then I posted the story onto fanfiction.net without any editing or second thought, and despite its faults the story became successful. It allowed me to write more stories, allowing me to tell you all about my amazing adventures, so you all can enjoy The Adventurers of John. But while I am proud of the original story, I know that I left out a great deal. I tried to remedy this somewhat by writing an additional work, Adventures of John: The Adventurer and the Snow Queen The Lost Weeks, but that was just an inadequate attempt at filling one of several holes.  
I realized that the only thing to do is to re-write the entire story. None of the events will change, as I am not trying to rewrite the past. However, I hope that I will be able to bring more depth and life to the tale. With help from Elsa, Anna, Rapunzel, and a little bit of magic, I am writing a story worthy of the love that it speaks of. So, readers new and old alike, read on and enjoy the true story of the Adventurer and the Snow Queen, the tale of a love that would transcend the boundaries between worlds.


	2. Prologue: Frozen Honeymoon

The Adventurer and the Snow Queen:  
A Tale of Two Worlds  
Prologue: Frozen Honeymoon

“This is the story of how I froze to death.”  
“Eugene.”

Snow fell lazily from the clouds above the kingdom of Arendelle, just as it had for the past day. It was the middle of June, but the weather seemed to be ignorant of the fact that it was supposed to be summer. The temperature was dropping steadily, and the people had begun to wonder how long before someone froze to death. Rumors had spread after the events of the swiftly canceled celebration, but most of those in the city didn’t truly know the cause of this sudden winter. Even though they heard the rumors they knew it couldn’t be true. How could their beloved queen possibly have done this?  
The townspeople huddled under blankets, inside homes and around fire places. Local nobles and foreign dignitaries whose ships were frozen in the harbor stayed within the various rooms in the castle. The nobles and dignitaries squabbled about what to do while Prince Hans led the Royal Guard in making sure the people stayed warm. Among those people sitting out in the streets of Arendelle were a couple from a different kingdom, a couple who had come to Arendelle in the belief that it would make a good honeymoon destination. Their names were Rapunzel and Eugene Fitzherbert.  
“Cloak!” the green and purple garbed guard walking down the snow-covered street shouted. “Does anyone need a cloak?”  
“We do!” Eugene shouted back from beneath the blanket which he and Rapunzel huddled under. The guard came and gave them both a cloak, which Rapunzel accepted with a kind smile and a whispered thanks, while Eugene wordlessly took his and immediately wrapped it around himself beneath the blanket. The guard walked away after that, leaving them to themselves as he continued his route.  
A minute later a blast of wind nearly blew the blanket out of their hands, forcing them to scramble to wrap it around themselves again. The wind was almost immediately followed by a new flurry of snowflakes.  
“It’s snowing again,” Rapunzel told her husband, patting the pocket where Pascal was curled up to make sure the little lizard was still safe, “wrap the blanket tighter.”  
“Great,” Eugene muttered, obliging her, “just the way I wanted to die.”  
“You’re not going to die.”  
“This is the story of how I froze to death.”  
Rapunzel gave an exasperated sigh. “Eugene.”  
Eugene shivered, tightening the blanket as much as he could. “This is the worst thing to ever happen to anyone,” he declared.  
Rapunzel turned to him and raised an eyebrow. “Oh yeah? Try being locked in a tower for eighteen years.”  
“At least you had shelter and warmth,” he countered. “I think being trapped in this kingdom for eighteen hours is more deadly. I don’t see how it could get any worse.”  
Just then, the storm decided to increase its intensity, a new barrage of icy wind throwing itself against them and filling the air with snow.  
“OH COME ON!”

. . . . .

When the pair had first decided to come to Arendelle it had seemed like a good idea. As the Crown Princess of Corona, Rapunzel would have been able to go to the celebrations reserved for the nobility and dignitaries and taken Eugene with her. They could enjoy the scenic locations of the kingdom and the surrounding wilderness while also being able to enjoy the parties that were supposed to last several weeks. It would have been a lovely honeymoon. But instead the celebrations were cut short and the pair of them had been outside enjoying the night air when the kingdom was suddenly plunged into an enchanted winter.  
It was not long after their argument that Rapunzel dragged Eugene after her as she went to help the others affected. The pair quickly joined the Royal Guard in distributing blankets, cloaks, and firewood to the people, all while telling them of the hot food waiting for them in the great hall. Their help was sorely needed, as Hans left and took several of the Guard in order to go and find Anna. Even more than the blankets, Rapunzel’s warm smile and gentle reassurances helped those that she met, giving them the strength to bear through. Pascal made it through despite his cold-blooded nature due to her body heat, and the three of them weathered the storm together, helping all those that they could.  
After another day of seemingly endless cold, everything was fixed. Summer returned, the scheming Prince Hans was banished back to the Southern Isles, and Queen Elsa returned to Arendelle seemingly in complete control of her powers. All Eugene cared about was that the endless cold was over. The day after everything quieted down he turned to Rapunzel and told her quietly, “We are leaving this kingdom now. Magic hair is one thing, but I was not made to deal with magical winters and ice queens and talking snowmen. Once we get a chance, we are leaving this crazy place.”  
But they didn’t get that chance. The first week after the eternal winter was chaotic, and several ships had been damaged by their extended stay in the frozen fjord. Their ship was one of them. So, since they didn’t have many other options, they stayed in Arendelle longer than Eugene wanted. Thus they were still there when the upcoming world-shaking events occurred.


	3. Chapter 1: Frustration and Temptation

The Adventurer and the Snow Queen:   
A Tale of Two Worlds  
Chapter 1: Frustration and Temptation

The air was filled with the smell of fresh fruit and crushed pine needles. The wind blew through the trees, their leaves a bright, lively green, the blossoms growing on them a multitude of bright friendly colors. Lights danced around the trunks of the trees, flitting this way and that. I soared over the forest, the wind tousling my hair as I enjoyed the fleeting sensation of defying the laws of physics.  
Several of the tiny lights flew out of the forest to meet me, the tiny women inside the lights fluttering their wings and smiling at me. I smiled back at the pixies and increased my speed, blasting past them with a resounding boom. Far ahead of me the air shimmered, a sign that I was nearing the boundary between the Realm of Spring and the other Realms of Faerie. I flew through the boundary and found myself-  
-forced from my waking dream by a loud voice. “You with us John?” my mom asked from across the table. “I asked you to pass the gravy.”  
“You got it.” I waved my hand, sending out a mental command for the gravy to move over to the other side of the table. I was about to return to my personal thoughts when my mother’s voice interrupted me once more.  
“John, the gravy isn’t going to move itself.” I looked up and realized with embarrassment that the gravy boat had indeed remained stationary. Of course it had. Why wouldn’t it?  
“Sorry.” I picked up the gravy boat and handed it to her. The rest of dinner I remained silent, eating my food as quickly as possible before excusing myself from the table. Later that night, everyone else was up in their rooms, probably surfing the net or watching a television show or doing something else on one of their devices while I washed the dishes and thought about what had happened. It wasn’t the first time I had tried to move something or otherwise use magic in the ordinary world, but it was the first time I had done it while others were around.  
When I was a little kid in elementary school, I met a pixie. Her name was beautiful, but I couldn’t pronounce even a syllable of it, so I called her Pixie. I was the only one who could see her, so I kept her a secret and we became fast friends. She taught me a way to enter a dream-like state where I could travel to the magical realms with my mind. Within these realms I learned that I had a great capacity for magic, more power than I could have dreamed of. Unfortunately, magic had been dying out in my world, so I while I was immensely powerful within the magical realms, outside of them I was limited to the same restrictions as everyone else. I had been on many amazing adventures, but that truth continued to hang over me.   
While it was amazing having all of that power while in the magical realms, it never truly felt real. I wasn’t even actually there. While my consciousness traveled to lands beyond imagining, my body remained stranded in the ordinary world. I could never truly feel the power coursing through me, feel the wind blowing past my face as I flew or feel the heat from the fire I shot from my hands.   
Glancing around to make sure no one was around, I focused on the plate in the sink that I would have cleaned next. I concentrated with all my might and tried to move it, tried to make it move just an inch into the air, just a centimeter. Anything! When it refused to move, I bundled up all my frustration and sent it toward the plate, determined to break it, to shatter it for daring to defy my will. The plate stayed where it was, completely unharmed, as obstinate as all of the other objects I had attempted to move with my mind over the years. I let out a sigh and continued with the dishes, though I left the one I had attempted to levitate untouched. 

. . . . .

I was at school the next day when trouble found me. “Hey guys, look at this!” a burly, well-tanned guy with sagging pants exclaimed. “This stringbean thinks he’s something!” Two other, not quite as muscular teens who I assumed were his nefarious posse strode into view, one with dark skin and the other with skin that looked like it had never seen the sun, quite a feat when you live in Las Vegas. They weren’t the first such group that had tried to start something, though usually it never amounted to anything, with the deans always around the corner.   
I suppose it was partially my fault. Whenever I saw their type, the ones who thought they were cool because they wore saggy pants, had a few piercings and got into fights, I looked down on them, which isn’t hard when you are six foot four. I simply couldn’t stand them. They thought they knew everything, but they knew nothing. They were ants to me. They were less than nothing. They saw this in my eyes and found it an affront to their pride. I doubt they had much to be proud of, but it didn’t keep them from attempting to start a fight with me to make themselves feel better.  
“Is that right, silly string?” the first one asked, pushing me with enough force to make me stumble backwards. “You think you’re something?” The kid was several inches shorter than me, but I would guess that he weighed a great deal more than me. I didn’t have an ounce of fat on me, and the muscle I did have was stretched out over my elongated form, so I often received nicknames like “stringbean”, and I didn’t look all too intimidating.   
The other two joined in, creating a ring of three that kept me from escaping. “You wanna start something?” one of them asked, pushing me back towards the leader. “Come on, throw a punch! Show us what you’re made of!”  
The leader pushed me again, and by this point I was practically boiling over with barely restrained rage. I directed that rage at the leader, imagining him flying backwards through the air. Unfortunately for me, I had forgotten where I was, and nothing happened. Nothing would ever happen. I was completely at the mercy of these intellectually-challenged delinquents. I was helpless. I was the most powerful human being on the planet, and I was completely powerless.  
“Hey!” came the voice of one of the deans as he walked up to us, his moustache bristling. “What’s going on here?”  
“Nothing,” the leader answered, the three of them doing their best to look innocent. “We were just having a bit of fun. Isn’t that right?” His threatening glare was probably intended to cow me into agreement, but after the feeling of powerlessness I had just experienced, I didn’t care about what revenge he might attempt to collect.   
“These idiots thought it would be fun to push me around and were trying to get me to retaliate so that their pitiful egos could be appeased by beating me senseless.”  
“Alright you three, you all get detention. And all four of you are coming with me to fill out an incident form.” The four of us followed the dean and his generous moustache to the dean’s office. The leader of the trio gave me another deathly glare, which I countered with a look of smug satisfaction. However, underneath that satisfaction I was still furious at the failure of my magic. I furiously imaged his shoes lighting on fire, but his shoes remained annoyingly flameless.

. . . . .

Time passed, and my condition did not improve. I tried to spend more time in the magical realms to assuage my frustration, but instead of helping it only made it worse, as I was becoming increasingly aware of how empty it felt. I wasn’t the one doing all these amazing things, an astral body I created with my mind was the one in the middle of the action. I wasn’t even there. I was sitting on the floor of my bedroom deep in meditation.   
I underwent more and more dangerous adventures in an attempt to drown out the feeling of apartness, but even when I was being chased by Thor himself after stealing the Asgardian’s apples of youth, I could still feel my stationary body in the back of my mind, far away from danger or excitement. I grew prone to periods of what I can only describe as greyness, where I couldn’t make myself care about whatever was going on around me, or really feel any emotion at all other than a deep emptiness.   
I had become a skilled liar over the years, hiding the fact that I believed in magic and had even experienced it for myself, so I was able to hide my feelings, or lack of them, from those around me. I smiled at the appropriate times and laughed when something was supposed to be funny, but I didn’t really feel any of it. It was all an act. I continued to try to use my powers, attempting to move objects or start fires with my mind, all attempts ending with the same result.  
Then, one day, I saw it. One corner stuck out of the bottom of my wardrobe, a single aged piece of paper. A spark of curiosity rose me from my stupor and I pulled at the paper, removing it from my wardrobe and pulling it into the light.   
I took in a deep breath when I saw what it was. I had forgotten about it completely, though I have no idea how I could have possibly forgotten about something so momentous and disastrous.   
A little over a year previous, I encountered an alien from another universe who could travel through time inside a box that was bigger on the inside. Our two universes collided, due to the efforts of a man who called himself the Technomancer. He had discovered a powerful spell book and used a combination of magic and technology to create spells of immense power. The Doctor and I worked together to defeat the Technomancer, saving both of our universes from devastation. In the final battle I got a taste of what it feels like to wield magic with my own body, and I burned the Technomancer’s spell book. However, one page of the book survived, and against all reason I kept the page for myself.  
The piece of paper I held in my hand was that page. On this page was written a spell that could create a rift that would allow travel across the boundaries separating worlds. With this spell the Technomancer had brought together our universe and the Doctor’s universe. With this spell I could create a connection with a magical world, allowing me to have the power I dreamt of. I could have all the power in the world, and all I had to do was cast this one spell. What harm could it do?


	4. Chapter 2: Before

The Adventurer and the Snow Queen:   
A Tale of Two Worlds  
Chapter 2: Before

Elsa was alone in her study, flicking away with her quill. She had trained her entire life to be Queen, but she had not been prepared for the sheer amount of paperwork involved. The fact that she had accidentally held the ambassadors of several major nations hostage with her powers didn’t make it any easier. With the combined weight of dealing with domestic affairs, solving their diplomatic fiasco, and continuing to work on controlling her powers, Elsa sometimes wondered how she had time for anything else.

“Elsa!” Anna exclaimed, barging through the doors and skidding to a halt. “I was riding through the countryside this morning, and I could swear that I saw a nest of tiny dragons! Once I saw them I knew that I had to come and grab you so that I could show you.”

Elsa just smiled and sighed. “What did they look like, these dragons?”

Anna paused for a moment, but her excitement failed to abate. “Well, I didn’t get a very good look at them. I ran back here once I saw them. But I am pretty certain they had wings and scales. Just come on and let me show you!” 

“Do you really think there are tiny dragons just lying around?”

Anna gave her a look. “You have magic ice powers and Kristoff’s family is a clan of trolls. After that, is anything really that hard to believe? Just come on! It’ll be fun!”

Elsa looked at her papers and the ink stains on her fingers, thinking about all the work that she had to do. Then she looked back at Anna’s big pleading eyes and she couldn’t help but let her face split into a grin. “Alright, let’s go see some tiny dragons.” 

Anna squealed in glee and raced off, Elsa laughing before running after her. She had time for things other than work because of Anna. Anna had a way of bringing out the child in her, reminding Elsa that there was more to life than her queenly duties. She loved her sister and always would.

 

. . . . .

 

“Alright,” Anna said, falling down into the grass with a humph. “So apparently they weren’t actually tiny dragons.” 

“They were still pretty interesting looking lizards,” Elsa replied in an attempt to cheer Anna up, lowering herself to lie next to her sister. “I liked the frills on their necks.”

“Still would have been cooler if they were dragons.”

“True.” 

They lay there for several minutes, simply enjoying the feeling of each other’s presence. Suddenly Anna twisted around to look at her sister, her eyes bright with excitement. “I just had an amazing idea!”

Elsa giggled at her sister’s enthusiasm. “And what is that?”

“You’ve been practically locked up in that prison of yours since we fixed everything-”

“You mean my study?” Elsa asked, eyebrow raised.

Anna waved that aside. “Tomato potato. Anyways, you’ve been spending all your time away from everyone.”

“I’ve spent time with you!” Elsa protested. “I admit I’ve been busy, but I’ve taken breaks to do stuff with you and Olaf, and we all have dinner together.”

“But what about everyone else?” Anna asked. “The people haven’t seen you. You’re their queen! They need to see you up and about. They adore you. You just need to go out every once and awhile and show your face.”   
“And what is your idea?”

“We hold a big celebration!” Anna replied. “Out in the palace courtyard. We invite everyone to come. You can decorate the courtyard with your powers and show everyone how beautiful your powers really are.”

“That sounds like a wonderful idea.” After all the time she had spent alone with a room full of documents and assorted papers, it would feel good to cut loose and enjoy herself. But… what if she lost control? What if she hurt someone? She shook her head sternly. No. I know how to use my powers now. I don’t have to worry about hurting anyone, not anymore. “Let’s do it.”


	5. Chapter 3: The Ritual

The Adventurer and the Snow Queen:   
A Tale of Two Worlds  
Chapter 3: The Ritual

Christmas, the most magical time of year. But I didn’t feel very magical. My power was still out of reach, and the ordinary world was as heinously magic-less as ever. For over a month now the spell had been eating away at my mind. When the Technomancer had used that ritual, two universes collided together and caused massive destruction, and that was with his technology helping. I had no idea what would happen if I used that spell. It could give me everything I ever wanted, or it could destroy everything. Each day wore away at my will, and my arguments against using that powerful page deteriorated. 

Finally I had no more arguments to make and I couldn’t resist any longer. Several days after Christmas I was alone in my bedroom and I began the preparations for the ritual. I have forgotten the exact details over time, but in all the task took over an hour. I poured salt on the ground in the shapes of magical sigils within a larger circle of salt. The circle then required several drops of my blood at key locations. The preparations continued for quite some time before the ritual was ready, and I began to chant.

I read the words off the page, speaking slowly and clearly to keep from mispronouncing them. As I finished with the last of the incantation the rift began to open, a tear in the fabric of the universe. On the other side of that rift I could feel the power. I could feel a world filled with magic, thriving with it. All other thoughts were driven from my mind as I felt that magic, all that power just waiting for me. All I had to do was reach out and take it…

Suddenly something went wrong and the rift folded in on itself, changing from a doorway to another world into a dark maelstrom. Inside the vortex was blacker than black, a dark, empty Void that wanted nothing more than to drag me into its gaping maw and never let me escape. The vortex drew in the salt sigils and protective circle, and then began to pull at me as well. I frantically searched for something, anything to hold on to, to save myself from that abyss. But there was nothing. I cried out for help too late as the dark vortex pulled me into its depths and everything went dark.


	6. Chapter 4: A Whole New World

The Adventurer and the Snow Queen:   
A Tale of Two Worlds  
Chapter 4: A Whole New World

For what seemed like an eternity, I floated through nothingness. No light, no substance, just me. I had no sense of direction, no sense of being. I opened my mouth to scream, but no sound would come. No air entered my lungs, but I felt no need to breathe. I was in the center of an endless Void, with no sign of the world I had come from or the world I had attempted to reach.

Then I began to unravel. I could feel my essence, the very fiber of my being, begin to be erased from existence. Memories flashed through my mind before vanishing forever. Early memories I had thought long forgotten burned brightly before fizzing out and fading into nothingness. For a moment I almost welcomed the end, the end to pain, the end to troubles, the end to everything. 

At the last moment I pulled back, remembering myself. I was John the Adventurer! I was the Wanderer, the Traveler, the Champion of Spring, and the Terror of the Dark Realms! I had seen wonders beyond man’s wildest dreams and faced terrors beyond humanity’s worst nightmares. I would not end this way. More recent memories flew through my mind, but this time I held on to them. I saw my first meeting Pixie and learning about magic. I looked through younger eyes as I battled the Lord of the Darkened Land. I saw the Queen of Spring and all the others from the Faerie War. I watched as Jack Frost, Peter Pan, the Mad Hatter, the Wicked Witch, the Doctor, Thor, and all the others that I had met in my travels flashed by. 

I would not end like this. I would not let everything I had done, and everything I could do, be erased from history! I held onto those memories, using them as an anchor, an anchor drawing me back towards myself. As I felt myself come back together, becoming me once more, I gathered my strength of will and forced myself from the nothingness, jettisoning myself from the Void through sheer force of will, leaving the darkness and entering the light.

. . . . .

I awoke splayed across a snow-covered ledge on a mountain overlooking a sea-side port city far below. The sun was setting behind a palace stood out in the bay, connected to the city by a single bridge. A stone wall extended from the palace around the city and out into the bay, a large space open in the wall with towers on either side for ships to pass through. At first, I was simply overjoyed to be alive. Then, when the exaltation had faded somewhat, I realized that I was nowhere near Las Vegas, or probably even the United States for that matter.

At first I assumed that I must have been somewhere in Europe. After all, they still have a good number of castles in decent condition. However, I soon realized that I was even further from home than that. A lot further. The distinct glow of electric lights was noticeably absent despite the coming night, and the port contained old-timey sailing ships instead of more modern sail-less fishing boats and cruise liners. 

After a quick check of my surroundings I realized that those were not the only discrepancies. The air was far too clean and the gravity felt… off. It wasn’t much different, just enough for me to feel a little too light. There was also this… electricity to the air, an energy that was both impossibly familiar and incredibly strange. 

“No…” I whispered to myself, barely noticing as I shivered in the icy cold. “It can’t be!”

I reached out my hand palm-up into the cold mountain air and imagined a flame hovering in the air above it, just as I had many times before in our world. However, unlike all the other times, less than a moment later a flame blazed to life! I stood amazed, wondering at how I could see the flame’s light and feel its heat. I then immediately checked for that tug that meant my body was still sitting at home waiting, but I felt nothing. I was actually, physically there.

A grin slowly spread across my face as the reality of my situation dawned on me. I could do anything. No longer was I bound by the laws of mortal men. No longer did I have to bow before Newton’s laws or any other law of science. Nothing could hold me back. I had my powers, now to have some fun with them. I laughed in jubilation and breathed a gout of flame into the night sky, a flame that took the shape of a mighty dragon. I leaped onto his flaming back, which did not burn me simply because I did not want it to. Together we let out a mighty roar and flew down, soaring over the town. 

The townspeople below ran in all directions, shrieking in terror as this fiery beast flew down from the mountains. Just when our flight had reached its lowest point and my dragon’s fiery wings were practically skimming the rooftops, I sent the beast rocketing up into the sky, and in a brilliant finale inspired by the Lord of the Rings, the beast exploded in a dazzling display of light and sound.

Far below I materialized unharmed in a dark alley, watching the stunned faces of the townsfolk. I examined the apparel of the various individuals within my field of vision, attempting to gauge exactly what time period I had dropped into and what clothing I would have to wear to fit in. I had a feeling that my t-shirt and sweatpants weren’t exactly in fashion here. Based in the homespun clothing and the design of the ships I had glimpsed in the harbor, I was able to create a vague guess as to what era I was in. After that all I needed was a little magic.

I could have made myself look like any other peasant, copying the clothing of those I saw in the street. However, there was one problem with that option: I’m a massive showoff. I just couldn’t help myself. Magical energy rushed through my veins, and I began to change. My muscles expanded, my bones grew, and my facial structure shifted. My t-shirt spread out and my sweatpants stiffened, and after matter of seconds I stood a different man. 

Where before had stood a lanky dirty-blonde teen in a used t-shirt and sweatpants, now there stood an athletic dirty-blonde young man, dressed in an eighteen hundreds red and gold dress uniform, the sort worn by nobles and military officers, with a golden sash and golden epaulettes, the tasseled shoulder plate thingies that such old uniforms so often have. The nobleman look was hardly inconspicuous, but it gave me a chance to show off while still being somewhat era-appropriate, so it was a fair trade-off. I immediately straightened my shoulders and assumed my most regal air, walking over to one of the still stupefied townspeople and requesting (oh so regally) that he take me to the city’s finest inn. 

He stared at me blankly at first, though I managed to catch his attention by procuring a single gold coin. 

“Right then sir,” he told me, nodding eagerly. “Best inn in town. I know exactly the place for you sir, the perfect place for a man of your station. Please, follow me.”

The coin was completely blank due to my lack of knowledge of the local currency, but I doubt the man either noticed or cared. He led me to an establishment in what I assumed was the better part of town, closer to the palace. I thanked him for his aid and gave him another coin, after which he ran off to wherever it was he came from.  
Interestingly enough, the man appeared to have spoken perfect English, without a trace of an accent. Due to the strange circumstances and my odd surroundings, that was somewhat of a surprise. English, at least the English that we are familiar with, shouldn’t have existed yet in this place. After a moment I considered the possibility that he might not have been speaking English at all. It was possible that I was somehow magically his language, or that we were speaking two completely different languages and yet still magically understood each other. 

After these contemplations I entered the inn, striding up to a large man in an apron that I assumed was the innkeeper. While large, he was still much shorter than me, especially with the extra height I had given myself. However, his girth far outmatched me despite my new athletic build. He was broad-shouldered, with thick, meaty arms and a large paunch that distended over his belt. His head was shaven clean, his eyes were friendly, and his cheeks were full and his jowls large and jiggling. He may have not been the healthiest man, but he was definetly a successful one if he could afford to keep himself fed like that.

“My lord,” he declared, bowing as he noticed me. I could tell from the confused expression on his face that however successful he was, it wasn’t a common occurrence for mysterious noblemen from other nations to come to his tavern. However, he knew better than to question the actions of a nobleman. “My lord, we have several rooms available, though they aren’t quite ready for someone of your station. If you had sent a messenger ahead, perhaps-”

“That is not necessary,” I told him. “I’ll simply take your best room, and I’ll make do. I don’t plan on staying long.” I paid for the room with more unmarked coins I pulled out of the air, feeling somewhat guilty as I did so. The coins were nothing more than constructs formed by my magic, so they probably wouldn’t last very long after I left the vicinity.  
I left for my room at the earliest opportunity, turning down the innkeeper’s offer of dinner. However, once he left I immediately conjured up a three course turkey dinner. In what appeared to be a time period where people rarely bathed and hadn’t discovered the existence of bacteria, I didn’t exactly trust the food to be sanitary. Not only was there that issue, but the last time I had eaten the available food on one of my adventures, I spent the next three hours stuck in the body of a rat, and that was not a pleasant experience. Of course, I was at a faerie ball at the time and everyone knows you aren’t supposed to eat faerie food, but it never hurts to be careful. I also didn’t trust the available bed to not be infested with bedbugs, so after my feast I conjured myself a memory foam bed. 

Right now you might be asking a few questions. Why choose the best inn possible if I was just going to conjure everything I needed? Why not pick somewhere less conspicuous, or maybe even conjure myself a palace in the sky? Well, to answer your last question first, palaces, especially sky palaces, are much harder to create than food or bedding. Also, the cheaper inns don’t have quite as much privacy, and I didn’t want anyone walking into the room and see my working my magic. Mostly though, it was for the image. 

If I was stuck here for the foreseeable future, there was no way in heck I was going to pretend to be some dirty peasant. I very much enjoy being clean. So, I might as well have as impressive a persona as possible, without arising too much suspicion. And if I wanted to pretend to be a noble, I would have to pick the best inn in town. So, I took my noble self and lay down in my bed, playing around with my powers to create fluttering images and shapes that glowed with power. Before long I grew sleepy, and I fell asleep thinking of all the wild and impossible things I could do now that I had my powers. Little did I know just how wild and impossible things were about to get.


End file.
